During the first episode of MTV’s The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, viewers briefly saw rookie Lauren Coogan as Josh Martinez’s partner in the opening mission.
However, the footage was mainly a shot of her and Josh working together to smash cinder blocks as their Season 37 photos and names appeared on the screen. That was her grand entrance, which lasted just seconds in the premiere episode.
Beyond that, Lauren, 29, was rarely seen in the episode and had no confessionals or moments shown where she was speaking with other cast members either. She also did not appear in any of the promotional videos for Season 37.
She recently responded to fans asking her about the situation and even commented on whether or not she’ll return for another season of The Challenge.
Lauren Coogan responds about her Season 37 edit
Fans have clearly noticed that something isn’t right with Lauren Coogan’s edit situation on The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, as it brings up comparisons to Dee Nguyen during Total Madness. Dee was edited out of footage from the remaining episodes after making inappropriate remarks on social media about Black Lives Matter during the season.
MTV gave a disclaimer ahead of the Total Madness episodes explaining that they’d severed ties with Dee. The disclaimer also gave their stance on the matter, so fans knew what was going on.
The same hasn’t happened with Lauren Coogan, leaving fans to scratch their heads and possibly believe rumors about her situation. So far, there’s been no definitive answer from MTV or Lauren on the matter.
A fan sent her an Instagram Story Q&A question asking, “Why are they editing you off The Challenge?”
Lauren gave an interesting answer, and while not revealing any details, she explained that it took a toll on her mental health.
“The question that I knew was coming and don’t really want to answer because it was so traumatic and led me into a lot of therapy and counseling and the worst time of my life,” Lauren said in her IG Story.
Interestingly enough, it seems that Lauren could answer why she’s being edited out of footage but chose not to. That could be due to trying to prevent any legal issues or giving herself a chance to return to the show. However, that seems questionable too.
Will Lauren be back on MTV’s The Challenge?
Fans are also asking Lauren if she will be on another season of MTV’s The Challenge. According to Lauren’s reply, “never say never,” but it seems to depend on several things.
“This one is more up to whether or not I choose to do it again and redeem myself or if I have the strength or willpower to potentially be gaslit and sentenced without a jury or evidence, I guess. But, never say never,” Lauren said in her IG Story clip.
Prior to MTV’s competition series, Lauren appeared on the dating show, Love Island USA 2. She was only in a handful of episodes on the show.
One has to wonder if any additional details will surface about Lauren being edited out of The Challenge Season 37 once the episodes have aired. In addition to the recent IG Story replies, she’s made remarks on Twitter as well. That included calling the season “Lies, Lies, Lies” and sharing that reality TV took a toll on her mental health.
However, Lauren answered a lot of other fan questions on her official Instagram Story. Among the other replies she gave were which male castmates were her favorites and even a response to a fan’s spoiler question about the Season 37 winners. That could be problematic for her getting invited back.
Time will tell if MTV’s The Challenge production gives Lauren another call, as they haven’t indicated that they’ve severed ties with the former Love Island USA star yet.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.